Musk hates shorts so much that he has gone to lengths most public company CEOs would consider unthinkable. It is believed by many that Musk's "funding secured" tweet in which he claimed to have investor backing lined up to take Tesla private may have been little more than an effort to "burn the shorts." The SEC alleged as much in its securities fraud suit filed against Musk in September. While the SEC subsequently reached a settlement with Musk and Tesla, Musk's Twitter rant last week calling the SEC the "Shortseller Enrichment Commission" may have thrown the sticking power of that agreement into doubt.
What began as a tirade against the SEC morphed into a general attack on the idea of short selling as a whole, declaring it to be parasitic and damaging to economic growth. But Musk is dead wrong about short selling. It is not predatory or harmful. It plays a crucial role in the stock market.